You and I
by mattnme04
Summary: Oneshot TG Story. Follow Troy and Gabriella as they both struggle with trying to get to where they want to be. Based off of Lady Gaga's song You and I.


**You and I**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything.**

She hadn't seen him in two years. Two years since she had been truly happy.

When Gabriella had graduated from East High, she never imagined getting offered a record deal. Someone had been at the last musical she had taken part in before graduation and heard her sing. She contemplated the offer for about a month before deciding it was too good of a deal to pass up.

To say that Troy had been heartbroken would be an understatement. He was absolutely devastated. He had given up everything that anyone had wanted for him in order to get to what he wanted: to be near her. He had chosen a college near her so they could continue to be together. But she threw that away.

Gabriella chose to go to California and record some songs she had written over the years, but had rarely showed to anyone. She kept in contact with Troy for several months, trying to keep their relationship going. But after about a year of being separated and Gabriella's career taking off, the two ended up going their separate ways. Gabriella continued her career singing and recording music, while Troy continued to go to college and play basketball.

Now, two years later, Gabriella was growing tired of her career. She was lonely. She had no one there to support her. Once she had graduated, her mom transferred to a new city and Gabriella hadn't stayed in contact with her. Now she had no idea where her mom even was. Gabriella was left with no family there to support her.

She was missing Troy severely. She was still very much in love with him and wanted nothing more than to track him down and get him back. The only thing, though, was that she didn't know where he was either. After his freshman year in college in California, after they broke up, Troy told her that he couldn't handle being in California anymore and transferred to a new college. But he didn't tell her where he was going.

In the end, Gabriella resorted to asking Troy's parents. They were more than happy to tell her where to find him. They had missed Gabriella terribly and they also knew Troy had been missing Gabriella.

Now Gabriella found herself driving to the state of Nebraska. Who would have ever thought she'd be driving halfway across the country to get the love of her life back?

She drove straight through to Lincoln, Nebraska, desperate to get to him as quickly as possible. His parents had given her the address of his dorm, as well as the bar he worked at, knowing those would be the two places she would most likely be able to find him.

It was 8 p.m. when she finally reached the city on that Friday night. She decided to check the bar first, thinking that may be her best chance of finding him at this time.

When she walked into the bar, she immediately spotted him serving drinks behind the bar. He was exactly as she remembered him. She stood there and stared at him for several minutes, just watching him interact with the people around him, watching him laugh. Then, he finally looked up and locked eyes with her. Questions floated in his eyes as he looked at her, wondering what she was doing there, in his bar. He was confused, but the butterflies that had long been dormant were once again at full force just by looking at her. He had missed her terribly, not dating any girl since her.

A couple of customers came up to the counter, asking for Troy to fill their orders. He looked over at them, breaking the contact that he had been holding with Gabriella, letting them know he had heard them. He looked back at Gabriella, holding a finger up to signal for her to give him a minute, then pointed at a corner booth for her to sit in. She nodded at him and took the seat.

Troy went about taking orders for a few minutes, glancing over at Gabriella every few moments to be sure she was still there. She was once again back in his life, and if he had anything to do with it, he wasn't letting her go anywhere.

Finally, 9:00 rolled around, and Troy was able to finish up his shift and trade places with another guy who had just come in to work. Troy pocketed his tips he had earned for the night before grabbing two drinks for himself and Gabriella.

He walked over to the table, taking a seat across from Gabriella before handing her one of the drinks.

"Thanks," she said shyly, lowering her eyes to her drink before taking a sip of it, avoiding eye contact with Troy now.

"What are you doing here?" Troy asked.

Gabriella sat there for a few moments, thinking about her answer before she finally answered Troy.

"That's a question I've been asking myself for the past hour as I've watched you." She finally looked up and made eye contact with Troy.

Troy sat there and stared at her for a few minutes, trying to decide if he was dreaming or if she was actually sitting in front of him. He had dreamed about her being in front of him so many times.

Gabriella watched Troy as he sat there. "I know I'm probably the last person that you want to see…but I just needed to see you. I wanted to talk to you."

Troy sat there and watched her as she fidgeted in her seat, refraining from making too much eye contact with him, looking at her lap a majority of the time. He took a sip of his drink before he finally spoke.

"I can't believe you're here. I always dreamed of getting to see you again, but I never thought it would actually happen."

"Troy, I'm so sorry about what happened two years ago. I never deserved you. You were nothing but wonderful, and I just ditched you. I was horrible to you. I'm surprised that we lasted as long as we did with the way that I treated you. You deserved better."

"Gabriella, it wasn't just your fault that things didn't work out for us. It was something that we both needed to put effort into. But it just wasn't our time."

Gabriella nodded and gave troy a slight smile. "I'm actually really surprised you are even sitting her in front of me. I could only hope you would be willing to talk to me after getting here."

Troy didn't say anything. He was still trying to fathom how she was even sitting there in front of _him_. It all still felt like a dream for him. Gabriella wasn't really sure what else to say. She had imagined hundreds of things that she wanted to tell him, but now that she was actually there, she had no idea what to say. After a few minutes of silence between the two, Troy finally stood up. Gabriela feared this would be the last of him. She feared he wouldn't want to see her anymore, but what he did next surprised her. Troy reached out, offering her his hand. She took it and he pulled her out of her seat to stand next to him.

"Come back to my place? We can talk some more in a quiet setting."

Gabriella nodded slightly, relief washing through her as she wasn't ready to let him go just yet. They walked outside, Troy grabbing Gabriella's hand and leading her to his car.

"We'll leave your car here for now if that's alright?"

"Ok." Gabriella climbed in Troy's car when he opened the door for her and waited until he closed it. The drive to his place was silent. Gabriella had a lot of mixed emotions. She was relieved and excited he was actually talking to her and willing to see her, but she was nervous too. This was the man that she had always planned on marrying and now they weren't together anymore. This was the man that she was willing to fight forever for. She'd do anything just to have him back in her life.

Troy sat there wondering what really made Gabriella come find him. He hadn't talk to her in two years. How did she even know where to find him? The last time they had seen each other, they had both been in California. That was one of the reasons he wanted her to come back to his place. It would give them some privacy in a quieter setting than the bar. But it would also allow him to hopefully get his questions answered and figure out her true intentions for being there.

When they finally arrived to Troy's, Troy led Gabriella up to his apartment. They sat down in the living room, Troy deciding to give her a little space by sitting in a chair next to the couch where she had chosen to sit. He saw her looking down at the couch before she looked up at him, a slight frown on her face.

"You kept the couch?"

"Of course. It's a great couch. I couldn't get rid of it."

Gabriella nodded. "I just thought that you would have wanted to get rid of it at the first possible chance, considering the history and all…" Gabriella trailed off.

"Gabriella, we may have broken up, but that doesn't mean I wanted to forget about you and cut you out of my life. I still loved you, and the memories that come with that couch I will never forget."

Gabriella blushed. He had a point. There were lots of memories that came with that couch. It was where they had first made love. Troy had just gotten his apartment and was still waiting for the moving trucks to deliver all his furniture. The only thing he had in the apartment was that old couch.

Troy watched Gabriella for a moment before realizing she wasn't going to start the much needed conversation, so he took the opportunity to get his questions answered. He let out a sigh before asking. "Gabriella…why are you here?"

Gabriella was caught off guard. Did that mean he really didn't want her here? "Umm…well…I came to find you." She took a deep breath. "I miss you." She chanced a look at Troy. He was just staring at her.

"But why? Why now? Why after so long?"

Gabriella sighed. "Because I can't live another moment without you in my life in some way. You were my support system. My mom has totally deserted me. I've had no support for the past two years. I guess I've just gotten to the breaking point. I can't handle doing it all on my own anymore." Gabriella fought back the tears. "I'll be completely honest. I have no friends, no family. I haven't had time to make new friends, at least not ones that I knew I could trust." Troy nodded, his heart breaking for her. "Don't get me wrong, Troy. I didn't come here for pity. I honestly came here for you. I need you, Troy. I just wish I had realized how much that was true two years ago." Gabriella let out a sob.

"Hey…hey…." Troy moved over next to her. "Don't beat yourself up over that. That was both of us. It wasn't just you. We just weren't in the right spot at the right time. It just wasn't meant for us to be together." Troy reached over and hugged her. Troy held her for a few minutes until her crying subsided.

Gabriella pulled back noticing the huge wet spot on Troy's shirt caused from her tears. She giggled. "Sorry."

Troy smiled. "Absolutely no problem."

They sat there for a few minutes in silence, both just taking in the situation. Gabriella wanted desperately for Troy to say something, but he sat there taking in everything Gabriella had just told him.

Gabriella was the first to speak up again. "I better get out of here. I'll just take a cab back to the bar to get my car." Gabriella went to get up, but Troy grabbed her hand.

"Wait, that's it?"

"What do you mean?"

"You drove all this way and that's where you're going to leave it?"

Gabriella looked down and fiddled with her hands in her lap, suddenly getting nervous again. "Well, Troy, I don't know what else to say. I've poured out my heart and now I guess the only thing I can do is wait for you to let me know how you feel."

"Honestly, Gabriella, I don't know how I feel right now." Troy let out a sigh, raking his fingers through his hair. He looked up and met Gabriella's gaze. "I think I just need some time to take this all in and think it over.

Gabriella nodded and headed for the door.

"Hey," Troy got up and walked to the door. He wasn't completely ready for her to walk out of his life. Gabriella stopped and turned to look at him, her hand on the door. "Tomorrow night we're supposed to have some kind of entertainment and we've come up short this week. Would you be interested in singing a couple of songs at the bar? For me?"

Gabriella thought about it for a moment. It would be a great chance to prove herself one more time to Troy and another opportunity to be with him, a possible opportunity to change his mind about them.

"Sure. I'm sure I can come up with something to sing."

Troy didn't want to show it, but he felt his heart skip knowing he would get to see her again. "Sweet. Well, we have a piano and everything there that you can use. Just come up with three or four songs that you can sing."

"Ok. Goodnight, Troy. I'll see you tomorrow night."

"Goodnight."

Troy closed the door behind him and leaned against it, already looking forward to the next time he would get to see the raven-haired beauty that he had been apart from for far too long.

Gabriella took a cab back to her hotel, deciding on leaving her car at the bar until tomorrow night. She was, unknowingly, mirroring the thoughts that were going through Troy's mind. She couldn't wait to see him again. But first, she knew she had to pick some songs that would help her out.

Gabriella woke up a couple hours after she had finally gotten to bed, lyrics running through her head. She got up and started writing them down. After a couple hours, she had written a new song, one that she knew was written especially for Troy. She looked at the clock. It was already six a.m.

She went back to bed, feeling more content that she was closer to having the perfect song to sing to Troy. After a couple hours of sleep, she got up and cleaned up for the day, going downstairs for breakfast. After breakfast in the restaurant, she was walking back through the lobby on her way to her room when she spotted a piano. Perfect!

She ran up to her room and grabbed her lyrics, going back downstairs to work on the music for her new song. She worked most of the day trying to perfect it, a few guests at the hotel stopping occasionally to listen and given their feedback on what they thought of it so far.

Troy had called her hotel and told her that she would go on at 8. She grabbed the stuff she would need before heading to the bar at 7.

Troy was behind the bar when she arrived, but he knew the moment she walked in. Just like old times, he could feel her presence. He looked up and noticed her nervous expression as she stood near the door, looking like she was ready to bolt at any moment. But the moment she looked eyes with him, that expression disappeared and she gave him a confident, bright smile.

One of the sound guys walked over and guided Gabriella to the stage where he helped her get set up. In between mixing drinks and serving the customers, Troy had his eye on Gabriella, watching her every move. He was determined that after this night, she would not be out of his sight again.

Gabriella sang three different songs, talking with the audience between each one and giving the meaning behind each. When she reached her fourth and final song, she locked eyes with Troy.

"This next song is dedicated to someone very special. I actually just wrote this song today, so you guys are the first to hear it. I hope you like it."

Gabriella played the opening notes on the piano before looking back out at the audience and starting in on her lyrics. She had never been this nervous before. This song laid out exactly how she felt and she hoped Troy understood it.

_It's been a long time since I came around_

_It's been a long time but I'm back in town_

_And this time I'm not leaving without you_

_You taste like whiskey when you kiss me, oh_

_I'd give anything again to be your baby doll_

_And this time I'm not leaving without you_

Gabriella looked over at Troy as she sang softly.

_You say sit back down where you belong_

_In the corner of my bar with your high heels on_

_Sit back down on the couch where we_

_Made love the first time and you said to me there's_

Gabriella's voice held a little more emotion now as she got further into the song.

_Something, something about this place_

_Something about lonely nights and my lipstick on your face_

_Something, something about my_

_Cool Nebraska guy_

_There's something about baby you and I_

Troy couldn't believe what he was hearing. This song was about him and her. She felt the same way about him?

_It's been two years since I let you go_

_I couldn't listen to a joke for a rock and roll_

_And muscle cars drove a truck right through my heart_

_On my birthday you sang me a heart of gold_

_With a guitar humming and loads of love_

_And this time I'm not leaving without you_

_Sit back down where you belong_

_In the corner of my bar with your high heels on_

_Sit back down on the couch where we_

_Made love the first time and you said to me there's_

Troy and Gabriella weren't aware of anyone else in the bar right now as Troy watched her perform on stage, her voice holding all the emotion she was feeling. Her voice had escalated as well as she got further into the song.

_Something, something about this place_

_Something about lonely nights and my lipstick on your face_

_Something, something about_

_My cool Nebraska guy_

_Yeah something about baby you and I_

_You and I_

_You you and I_

_You you and I_

_You you and I_

_You and I_

_You you and I_

_You you and I_

_You you and I_

_You say sit back down where you belong_

_In the corner of my bar with your high heels on_

_Sit back down on the couch where we_

_Made love the first time and you said to me there's_

_Something, something about this place_

_Something about lonely nights and my lipstick on your face_

_Something, something about_

_My cool Nebraska guy_

_Yeah something about baby you and I_

_You and I _

_You and I_

_You you and I_

_You you and I_

_You and I_

_You you and I_

_You you and I_

_You you and I_

Gabriella's voice softened as she finished the song.

_It's been a long time since I came around_

_It's been a long time but I'm back in town_

_And this time I'm not leaving without you_

It had been a long time since he had heard her sing in person. He had kept track of her career, staying up to date on all her music. He had always thought she had a beautiful voice and loved listening to her.

Troy had been listening to every word she sang, hope rising in him as he heard the meaning behind all the words. He had made his way to the side of the stage by the time she was done. He looked in her eyes, reaching to grab her hands. "Did you really mean that?"

"Every word." She gave him a slight smile. "Troy, you're the reason I came here. I'll fight for you for as long as it takes. I'm not leaving this city unless you're coming with me. I'm not going to give up on us this time. I'm determined to make it work….as long as you are." Fear crept up inside of her. She had poured out her heart on that stage. She had taken a risk, not knowing if he still felt the same way about her or not. It was up to him now. She looked down at the floor as she waited for him to say something. Several moments passed without a word spoken. When she realized he wasn't going to say anything, she dared to look up at him. She wasn't going to give up, though.

What she saw when she looked up surprised her, however. Tears were beginning to stream down Troy's face. She looked at him questionably, wondering what had made him cry.

Troy was beyond joy. He had only dreamt that she would ever feel the same way about him that he still felt about her. He couldn't believe that even after all this time that she would still hold feelings for him.

Gabriella reached up and wiped away Troy's tears. "You don't know how long I have dreamed of you saying anything like that. I could only hope that you would feel the same for me that I have felt for you all these years. I could never stop loving you. I could never love anyone else. Only you, Gabriella, only you." He closed the distance between them, drawing her into an embrace before leaning down and capturing her lips with his.

After a few seconds, they heard wolf whistles coming from the direction of the bar. "Woo! Way to go Troy, my man! Dude, it's about time you found ya a girl!" Chad had entered the bar and saw Troy near the stage talking to someone but couldn't tell who it was. After ordering his drink, he had looked over to see Troy leaning in to kiss her. He couldn't help himself. He had to say something. He had seen Troy suffer for far too long waiting for Gabriella to come back to him. He just needed to move on and realize Gabriella would never come back to him because she was so wrapped up in her job now.

What Chad saw when the couple looked up, though, really shocked him. There, standing in Troy's arms, was the one and only Gabriella Montez. What the hell was she doing here?

A blush came to Gabriella's face as she realized there were people staring at her. Even though she was used to being in front of millions of people, she still felt self-conscious when it came to her personal life. But when she saw who it was that was making the wolf whistles and comments and saw the look on his face, she couldn't help but laugh. Troy put his head down on her shoulder, hiding his face.

"Ugh…why do I have him as a friend again?"

Gabriella giggled. "You know…I always wondered that myself." She grinned at him as he lifted his head to look at her, a slight smirk on his face. "Come on, before _your friend_ makes a scene."

Troy leaned down to peck Gabriella on the lips again before grabbing her hand and heading across the room to where Chad was sitting. "I love you, Gabriella."

Gabriella looked up at Troy. "I love you, too, Troy."

The couple walked up to Chad's table and sat down next to one another across from him, hands still intertwined.

Chad continued to look between the two of them, speechless. Finally, he found his voice, but still was stunned. "Wha…what…when did you…how did you?…." Chad trailed off, shaking his head. Troy and Gabriella laughed at their shocked friend. "How did I not know about this?"

"Well, it just happened actually," Troy said, looking at Gabriella.

Chad looked at Gabriella. "How did this happen? I'm so confused! How did you even know where Troy was? Have you been talking for a while?"

"Actually, we just met back up yesterday. I just drove up here. I asked Troy's parents where he was. I couldn't believe that I was going to do it, but I just couldn't go on without Troy. He's everything to me. He's my support system and I had finally run myself down to almost nothing before I told myself I had to at least try to get him back." Gabriella felt Troy squeeze her hand under the table.

Chad just nodded, trying to take it all in. "So do you have to go back soon? You have to at least see Taylor before you leave. She'll be extremely upset if she finds out you were here and she didn't get to see you."

"Actually…I think I'll stay here for a while." She looked at Troy to see a slightly surprised look on his face. She hadn't had a chance to tell him everything about her job. She was still staying in the music business, but she was tired of constantly going. She wanted a life. So she decided to reduce her workload to be able to actually have a life and still do the singing on the side. "I would love to see Taylor while I'm here. Are you guys back together?"

Chad and Taylor had broken up a couple months before Troy and Gabriella. They had been fighting so much, they thought it would be best for the both of them to split up and try to be friends.

"Yeah, actually we've been back together for about eight months now. It just wasn't working for us as being just friends. So we decided to try it again. I think it has been one of the best decisions I've ever made."

Gabriella smiled at Chad, loving how happy he looked. She looked back over at Troy to find him staring at her, a loving look in his eyes as he rubbed circles on her hand that he was still holding.

"So how long are you going to be here for, Gabs?" Chad asked.

Gabriella thought about it. "I'm not exactly sure. However long it takes to finish what I came here to do."

"And what exactly is that?" Chad asked, a confused look on his face.

Gabriella smiled before answering. "To make sure that the love of my life remains in my life." She glanced over at Troy, who had a smirk on his face.

"I don't think you have anything to worry about. I'm not going anywhere."

Gabriella grinned, feeling elated. She was beginning to feel complete once again, a feeling she hadn't felt since she and Troy parted ways. She had always thought that her music would do it for her, but it never did.

But she knew she and Troy had a long way to go. They still had a lot to work on in their relationship. She knew she couldn't expect them to go back to how they were before they broke up. She had a lot of explaining to do, thing she wanted him to know about that she had realized during their time apart.

Troy went back to finish up his shift while Gabriella finished catching up with Chad. When Troy was finished, he came back over to the table Gabriella was sitting at.

"You ready to get going?" Troy asked, ready to leave the noisy confinement of the bar and go somewhere quieter.

"Um…yeah." She wasn't sure what the plan was, but she knew she wasn't ready to go back to her hotel.

"It's been a long day and I've been there entirely too long. I'm ready to go home," Troy said as he grabbed Gabriella's hand.

Gabriella was disappointed. He was ready to call it a night. "Yeah, it has been a long day," she said quietly. "I'm just going to grab my car and head back to the hotel." She let go of Troy's hand who immediately felt disappointed at the lack of contact with her. She looked up at him. "Can I see you tomorrow?"

"Um…yeah." Troy was confused. He had hoped she'd want to see more of him now that they were working on being back together. He hadn't gotten to talk to her hardly at all today. As he looked at her shuffle through her purse looking for her keys, he got the courage to speak up. "Do you want to come back to my place?"

Gabriella looked up from her purse, hope rising in her that he really did want to spend more time with her. "Yes," she whispered. She cleared her throat. "Are you sure that you're not too tired, though?"

"I'm never too tired to spend time with you, Brie." Gabriella felt a shiver go through her at his use of the old nickname that only he was allowed to call her. Troy grabbed her hand and pulled her to her car, turning her around when they got to it and pinning her to the side of it. He leaned down and reclaimed her lips, something he had been wanting to do since they separated when Chad interrupted them.

Gabriella moaned at the contact, wrapping her arms around Troy's neck, melting into his embrace. "Mmm…you have no idea how long I've been wanting to do that," Gabriella said as she pulled back.

"Oh, I think I do." He wiggled his eyebrows at her. "I've missed you so much, Brie."

"I've missed you too…so much."

Troy opened Gabriella's door for her, already missing the contact with her as she stepped into the car. "Follow me back. I'll see you there."

The next day Gabriella checked out from the hotel and stayed with Troy. After a week of being there, Troy came home from class excited that he had gotten out of class early. It gave him a longer break before he had to go to work, meaning long with Gabriella.

What he saw when he got there, though, was not what he expected and made him panic. They had just talked the night before about her moving in with him permanently, and though she had been a little reluctant at first, she had finally agreed with him. But now, he walked in to see her packing her bag.

He sat his bag down slowly next to the wall as he stood in the doorway, no words coming to him immediately. He wasn't sure what to say, what he needed to say to change her mind.

"What are you doing?" he finally asked.

She looked up at him, smiling at him. "Hey! I didn't expect you back so soon. How was class?"

"It…it was okay," he said slowly. "What are you doing?" he asked again.

"Oh…I'm packing. I got a flight out to L.A. for this evening."

She acted like it was no big deal. Troy on the other hand was panicking. "What? I thought we said you were staying here. What happened? I thought we were okay." Troy felt like all the air had been knocked out of him and it was getting harder to breathe.

"What? We are fine, Troy." Gabriella walked over and placed one of her hands on the side of Troy's face. She looking into his eyes to see fear and could tell he was nervous. "Troy? Are you okay?" Troy didn't answer and it seemed he had stopped breathing. "Troy, breathe, baby." She caressed the side of his face.

He finally let out a breath he was holding and looked her in the eyes, feeling the tears prick his own.

"Troy, what is this all about?"

"Are…are you…" he paused and took a deep breath. "Are you leaving permanently?"

Gabriella let out a sigh. "Oh, Troy. I'm sorry. No, I'm just leaving for a few days to get things settled with my apartment back in L.A. and everything and to get my stuff. I thought you understood that."

Troy grabbed onto Gabriella and held her tight. "I'm sorry," he said as a tear escaped and slipped down his face. "I just panicked. I thought I was losing you again." He pulled back and looked at her. "I can't handle that again."

Gabriella reached up and wiped the tear from his face. "I know. Neither can I. I love you too much, Troy." She leaned up and kissed him before turning back around to resume her packing.

"What time do you leave?"

"I have a flight out at three this afternoon."

Troy looked at the clock noticing he had four hours with her still. "Can I drive you to the airport?"

Gabriella looked at him and smirked. "I'd be hurt if you didn't."

Troy grinned and walked over to her, picking up the bag she was packing and putting it on the floor. Gabriella looked at him questionably. He grabbed her and tugged her against him, leaning down to kiss her with as much passion as he could. Over the next couple of hours, Troy showed Gabriella exactly how much he loved her and how much he would miss her.

Later when Troy and Gabriella were standing at the airport, Troy having gone as far as he could with Gabriella, she turned to say her goodbyes to Troy.

"It's only for a few days. I'll be back before you know it."

Troy leaned his forehead against Gabriella's. "You better be. I'm going to miss you so much."

"I'll miss you too. I'll text you when I land since you'll be at work. Call me tonight when you get off."

"I will. I love you, Gabriella Montez. Remember that."

Gabriella smirked. "I love you too, Troy Bolton. And I don't think I'll be able to forget that for quite some time."

Gabriella leaned up for one last kiss before she turned around and headed for security and out of Troy's sight.

The next couple of days went by slower than any Troy could ever remember. He talked to Gabriella every night after he got off of work. She had gotten everything packed up at her apartment and was ready to come back, much to Troy's relief. Even though she had said she'd be back, he still had a fear of her getting caught up with everything in L.A. while she was there and deciding not to return to him. Why would she want to be with him, ordinary Troy Bolton, who worked in a bar and went to college in Nebraska and played basketball, while she could be in L.A. living a dream life?

Which is why he panicked even more when she called after three days of being gone to inform him that she would be a couple days longer because her manager had gotten word of the song she had sung in the bar and wanted her to come to the studio for a couple days to work on making it her next single. She figured one more song for now wouldn't hurt considering she probably wouldn't be back in the studio for quite some time, desperate just to stay by Troy's side for now.

Her manager had other ideas, though. "Gabriella, I really wish you weren't rushing off to Nebraska. I'd really like you do another concert and debut your new song to a larger audience. It would help with the releasing to the public. I think you've written a hit here, but how are people supposed to hear about it if you're not going to sing it for them live?"

"Mark, I realize you only want what is best for my career and I appreciate that. But I've told you before. I'm perfectly happy with living a normal life without all the chaos of the music career. I'm ready for a break. I just want Troy back. And now that I have him back, I don't plan on letting him go, even if that means letting go of the music career. I'm just so afraid of my music coming between us. It did that once and I don't want that to happen again."

"I do realize that, Gabriella. And I do want what is best for you and what is going to make you happy. But I also think that at this point, what is going to best for you is to debut this song a few times to get it going."

"Tell you what, Mark. I'll agree to do one concert. _One_. But that's it. That's all I'm doing and then I'm going back to Troy."

Mark let out a sigh, clearly disappointed. "Okay." They shook on it and Gabriella smiled. One last time to be with her fans.

Troy hadn't heard from Gabriella in a couple of days. She was too afraid to talk to him, afraid he would be upset with the deal she had made with Mark. It was currently Wednesday. She had been gone almost a full week, two days more than what she had told Troy. Mark had set her concert up for Friday, getting her a flight out on Saturday. Only three more days until she would see Troy and be with him permanently.

She had refused to answer his phone calls and had refused to call him. She didn't want to hear the disappointment in his voice when she told him she wouldn't be home for three more days. She knew he would be hurt and she couldn't handle hearing it knowing she was the one that put it there.

Troy however, was slowing giving up, feeling as if he was losing her again. She had said she'd be doing a couple days of studio, but that was four days ago when she told him that. She was supposed to have had a return flight here on Monday, but that never happened. She still wasn't here in his arms, and it was looking less and less likely that would happen.

On Friday morning, Gabriella was getting excited for her concert. Getting up and performing in front of her fans always gave her a thrill, a feeling like nothing else that she couldn't find doing anything else. She absolutely loved it. But could she give it all up just like that? She thought about being with Troy. Yes, she could give it up. She could because being with Troy made her feel ten times better. She couldn't imagine not having Troy in her life. She could still sing on the side as long as it didn't come between them.

Troy currently was sitting at home. For the past three days, he had locked himself in his apartment. A few of his friends had tried contacting him trying to figure out why he hadn't been in class or at work. He refused to answer their calls and text though. The only one he would answer for would be Gabriella, but the chance of her contacting him was looking even slimmer as he loaded up the internet and looked on Yahoo's home page at the main headline, "Gabriella Montez is Back". He clicked on it and read the article accompanying it. It showed a picture of her performing at one of her concerts. The article discussed how she had recently come back to L.A. to record a new single that she would be performing at her concert that night. She had scheduled another concert and he didn't even know it. She was back to performing. His worst fear had come true. She had gotten caught up in all things L.A. and wasn't coming back to him.

That afternoon, Troy realized he couldn't sit and mope around in his apartment for the rest of his life. He had to get back out and get his mind off of her. He went to work that night, changing the channel at one point as he saw the current station was playing a live recording of her concert. He couldn't handle watching her, knowing it would break his heart even more.

Fifteen minutes before he was due to be off, Chad came running in the door. Chad had finally gotten through to Troy this afternoon and Troy had explained everything that had happened throughout the week.

Chad ran up to the bar. "Dude! Did you see her concert?"

Troy looked up at Chad, shocked and hurt he would even bring her up. "No, I didn't. And I don't want to talk about it or her." Troy walked down the bar to another customer and Chad followed him.

"But she…"

Troy turned and looked at him, anger filling his eyes as he cut Chad off. "Stop Chad! I don't want to hear it. I don't want to even hear her name again."

Chad looked at his best friend with sympathy, knowing he was hurting bad. But he also knew that pain would soon go away, he just wished Troy would listen so the pain could go away even sooner. He waited around until Troy got off of work, willing to try one more time.

As Troy was walking out the door, he saw Chad from the corner of his eye rush over to him. "Dude, I need you to listen. I just need to tell you this one thing."

"Chad, I told you…if it has anything to do with her, I don't want to hear it. Don't you get it? She hurt me, man. I thought it was different this time. I thought she loved me."

"But she does. I watched the whole concert and she had you on her mind the entire time. She kept talking about you. She even sang her new song and dedicated it to you. And do you know what she said at the end of her concert?"

"Chad, I really don't care. I don't want to know, so please spare me the details. I'm tired so I'm going home. I'll see you later."

Chad's shoulders slumped knowing Troy really didn't want to know. He would just have to be surprised tomorrow.

Saturday afternoon, Gabriella found herself once again in Nebraska. She looked at her watch as she left the airport, deciding Troy would be at work. She hopped in a cab, considering her car was still at Troy's. She decided she would drop her stuff off at his place, their place, before she surprised him at the bar. She hoped that he had watched the concert last night. Everything about it was for him.

Gabriella had sold all of her furniture while she was in L.A., only bringing the things she needed, pictures, clothes, and small things that she could easily pack in a suitcase. She took all of her bags up to the apartment with the help of the cab driver, deciding to unpack later. She was desperate to see the one man who constantly made her heart beat. She grabbed her keys, heading out the door to her car and to the place she knew she'd find him.

When she got the bar, though, she was surprised to see that Troy wasn't behind the bar. She walked up to the bar, getting the attention of the man who was working.

"What can I get you?"

"Is Troy here?"

"Uh…no. I'm taking his shift tonight. He hasn't worked much this week. Said he had a family problem that he had to take care of. I think he'll be back Monday, though, if you want to come back then."

Gabriella was confused. What kind of family problem? She was concerned that something had happened to his parents.

She decided to call them to see if she could find out anything.

"Hello?" Gabriella heard Jack's voice.

"Jack? It's Gabriella."

"Hey! How are you?" She heard the smile in Jack's greeting.

"I'm doing, okay. Hey, you wouldn't happen to know where Troy is, would you?" Gabriella grew nervous as she awaited a response.

"Uh…yeah…actually I do. I thought you knew where he was, though. He told us you were busy this weekend and weren't able to be with him. He's here for the weekend. Said he just needed to get away and clear his head, but he wouldn't tell us anything more than that. Gabriella, can you tell me what's going on with him? Is it stress from school? Are you guys okay?"

"Well actually, I'm not really sure what's going on. I went to the bar since I just got back into town thinking I would find him there and the guy that took his shift said he took the weekend off because he had some family problems. I was afraid something had happened to you or Lucille."

"No, it's not us. I'll try to get to the bottom of this, Gabriella. Don't worry, he'll come home in one piece."

"Thanks, Jack. Can you do me a favor, though?"

"Sure, what is it?"

"Can you keep this conversation between us? He doesn't know I'm home and I was hoping to surprise him."

"Sure thing, Gabriella. You know, if you're up to it, though, you're always welcome here."

Gabriella smiled at Jack's hospitality. "Thanks, Jack. I appreciate it, but I think I'll just stay here and get settled back in. Let me know if you find out anything."

"Will do. Bye, Gabriella."

"Bye," Gabriella said softly as she hung up the phone. Why would he go to Albuquerque telling everyone here he had family problems, but he wouldn't even tell his family what was going on? She hoped it had nothing to do with her. What if she had lost her chance with him? What if all of this was because she left and hadn't called?

Gabriella started putting some of her stuff away, getting settled into what she now called home. Home for her would always be with Troy no matter where they were located.

On Sunday night, Gabriella waited impatiently for Troy. She stayed up late waiting for him, but when she could barely keep her eyes open, she finally decided to turn the TV off that she hadn't really been watching and head to bed. She took out one of Troy's t-shirts, feeling the need to be as close to him as possible, and crawled in bed.

At 2:30, Troy finally walked into the dark, quiet apartment. He had flown back to Nebraska earlier that evening, but had driven around town, finally stopping at the bar later that night to buy a beer before heading home. He had sat at the bar for several hours and sipped on his bottle of beer, not even finishing it by the time he was done, just trying to figure out what he was going to do. He never had opened up to his parents the entire weekend even though they kept asking him what was wrong. He just wasn't ready to explain things to them.

Now, he found himself completely exhausted and ready to go to bed. He sat his bag in the bedroom, turning on the bedside lamp so he could find his clothes. After changing in the closet, he headed back to the bed, finally noticing the girl who was clutching his pillow. He stopped in his tracks as he heart clenched at seeing her. He had only dreamed of seeing her again, but now she was actually here in his bed, wearing his clothes as she slept peacefully. He finally moved, turning off the light before crawling into bed next to her. He wrapped his arm around her, drawing her close to him. She shifted in her sleep, molding into him as, for the first time in over a week, Troy was able to drift off into a peaceful slumber.

The next morning, Gabriella was the first to wake, realizing she was being held in an embrace. She turned over to look at Troy, noticing he was still sleeping. She gently traced the contours of his face, watching as his nose and eyelids twitched at her touch.

Troy woke up to the feeling of someone's fingertips running over his face. He slowly opened his eyes and looked into the gaze of the one person he'd been craving since the moment she left Nebraska a week and a half ago. He gave her a small smile.

Gabriella smiled back at Troy before leaning up to kiss him softly. When she pulled back, she noticed the confusions and questions in Troy's eyes as he laid there looking at her.

"Good morning," she said.

"Good morning," he replied as he let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. "I think that's the best sleep I've had in the past week and a half."

Gabriella smiled. "Same here." She scooted even closer to him and snuggled into his chest, feeling him rubbing her back.

Troy let out a sigh. "Not that I'm not glad you're here, but what are you doing here?"

Gabriella pulled back, surprised. She frowned at him. "Umm…I…I thought…" She was confused. Had they not had this conversation before she left? Had he changed his mind? "I thought we talked about me living here. If you changed your mind, though, just let me know. I don't want to impose on you," she said quickly.

Troy tightened his grip on her and pulled her back to him. "Oh, gosh, no! I thought you had changed your mind about coming back. I thought you were staying in L.A."

"Troy, why would I do that when you're right here? I told you I was coming back."

"Yeah, but I heard you had scheduled a concert and you were spending time in the studio again, and then you weren't returning my calls. I thought you had decided to start your career up again."

Gabriella let out a sigh. "I'm sorry, Troy. I know I should have talked to you. I was just afraid. I decided to do one last concert. I was just afraid to talk to you and hear the disappointment in your voice when I told you I wasn't going to be back when I had originally said. I felt horrible disappointing you again. It seems that's all I can do."

Troy rubbed her back. "Promise me next time you'll call, or at least answer my calls."

"There won't be a next time, Troy." Troy pulled back and looked at her, confused. "I quit. I'm officially done. I don't want to be away from you any longer. I had hoped you would see my concert on Friday when I told my fans that I was done because I had finally realized what my one true love was….you."

Troy felt elated to hear her say that. He leaned down and captured her lips in a passionate kiss, full of all the emotions both had held in. Troy eventually pulled back and looked at her, giving her a smile and another peck before looking at the clock. He let out a groan seeing what time it was.

"Baby, I hate to do this considering this is the first time I've seen you in a week and a half…but I have to go to class. I missed too many times last week."

"Yeah…that's what I heard. What was going on?"

Troy let out a sigh and gave her a soft smile. "I was depressed."

Gabriella's eyebrows shot up. "Depressed?"

Troy laughed. "Yeah…" He reached around and rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "It's so stupid now…"

"What happened, Troy?" Gabriella asked softly.

"I thought you had left me. So I locked myself in here, refusing to go anywhere or talk to anyone."

Gabriella's heart broke for him. If only she had talked to him last week…if only she would have talked with him and let him know what was going on…

"Well you better get to class, then. I don't want you to be late. But I would like to see more of you after you get home."

Troy grinned before sitting up. "You bet! Don't go anywhere! I'll be back before you know it." He got up and headed to the bathroom to get ready.

Gabriella laid in bed until he got ready to leave. He walked over to the bed. "I'll see you in a couple hours after class. I love you. Welcome home, baby." He leaned down to kiss her before pulling back and walking away, pausing at the door. "Oh by the way…you look sexy in my shirt." He winked at her and walked away as Gabriella blushed at his words.

Over the several months, Troy and Gabriella had gotten used to being back together and they couldn't have been happier. Troy had continued his classes at the college, starting his senior year. He only had two months left until he graduated.

Gabriella had started up classes and was currently in her second semester. She loved taking classes and was wanting to become a music teacher. She had been doing small gigs in the bar about once a week for a little extra income and to keep up with what she loved to do. Plus it gave her more time with Troy while he was at work.

A month after Troy graduated, Troy had gotten a job at a local theater as a director. He was working doing exactly what he loved to do. He had quit his job at the bar, resulting in Gabriella also quitting doing her weekly gigs. Troy ended up talking to the people at the theater and Gabriella was eventually hired on as a music coach for the musicals that were put on there.

Troy and Gabriella had just finished the last night of the first musical they had both put on together. It had went over well and the public gave wonderful reviews, praising Troy for his outstanding job of directing the musical.

"Let's go celebrate," Gabriella said as they were leaving the theater.

"What did you have in mind?" Troy asked as he led her to the car.

"How about a late dinner? I'm hungry."

"Sounds good." Troy drove them to a local Italian restaurant. "I guess you're feeling better?"

"Yeah, I am." Gabriella had been sick a lot lately. Troy thought it was just due to the stress of the musical, but Gabriella had went to the doctor one morning instead of going to her classes. The doctor had given Gabriella the results and she was surprised by them. She still hadn't told Troy she'd gone or what she'd found out. She wanted to wait until the musical was over. She figured tonight would be a good night.

Troy also had something he wanted to talk to Gabriella about. He was so nervous. They had been back together for over a year, but he still held a fear that one wrong decision would cause her to run back to L.A. He decided he wanted to just get it over with. He needed to.

The couple had been sitting there for nearly an hour, enjoying their dinner when Troy finally decided to speak up.

"Brie, there's something I've been wanting to talk to you about."

Gabriella sat up more in her chair. "Really? There's something I've been wanting to talk to you about, too."

"Oh…well…why don't you go first," he said, hoping to postpone a possible rejection a little longer.

"No!…I mean…no, why don't you go first. I want to save mine until the end," Gabriella said, wanting him to get his out in the open before she had him running for the hills.

"Oh…okay…" Troy said slowly. He decided to just lay his heart out there. "Brie, I love you so much. And I hope you know that already." Gabriella nodded slowly, wondering where this was going. "I love you and I…I know I don't deserve you. I'm nothing compared to you and you deserve someone who is going to treat you like the queen you are…."

"Troy…where are you going with this?" Gabriella asked nervously. "Are…are you breaking up with me?"

"What? Oh, god, no!" Troy slipped out of his chair and knelt down by Gabriella's chair, placing his hands on the sides of her face. "No, Brie. I'm doing quite the opposite actually. I know I'll never be good enough for you, but I'm going to be selfish here for once. Brie, would you please agree to be with me forever? Would you marry me?"

Gabriella gasped as she put one hand over her mouth, tears forming in her eyes. She looked at Troy's eyes, hope and fear found in them. She took her hand down and placed it on Troy's face. She took a deep breath and let it out as a sigh. "Troy, before I answer that question, I need to tell you something. I probably should have went first, I suppose." Troy tensed. He didn't like the sound of that. "Can we go first? So we can talk in private?"

The fear in Troy's eyes only escalated. He was so afraid of what she was about to tell him. What could she possibly have to tell him that would determine whether she could marry him or not? Was she thinking about starting up her career again? Did she find someone else?

Troy paid quickly and took Gabriella's hand as he led her outside and to the car. He waited for her to make the first move, but she never did. The ride back to the apartment was completely silent. The closer they got to the apartment, the more nervous both of them got. Troy had tears in his eyes by the time he parked.

Gabriella went to get out of the car, but noticed Troy wasn't moving. She looked at him for the first time since they had left the restaurant and noticed the tears coursing down his face.

"Troy?" He didn't respond, just looked out his window. "Troy?" she tried again. He finally looked over at her. "What's wrong, baby?"

"Why won't you answer me?" he asked, his voice full of pain.

Gabriella choked back a sob as she realized what was going on. "I just really need to talk to you about something before you decide for sure that you want to marry me."

"Brie…baby…nothing is going to change my mind. I want to marry you."

Gabriella smiled. "There's nothing I want more either. But I really need to talk to you before we make our final decision. Let's go up to the apartment and get comfortable and talk…please?"

Troy nodded and silently followed her up to their apartment, a little more hopeful knowing that it wasn't the fact that she didn't want to marry him, but still wondering what could possibly be holding her back thinking that I may not want to marry her.

They changed out of their dress clothes and into their pajamas, settling in on the couch that held so many memories for the couple. Gabriella settled into Troy's side, Troy's arm around her holding her close.

"Troy, I didn't mean to hurt you. You have to know that there is nothing in this world that I want more than to be able to wake up next to you every morning knowing that you're my husband. I have dreamed for so long to become Mrs. Troy Bolton, Gabriella Bolton. I think I've dreamed of that for probably the five, nearly six years that I've known you." Gabriella paused and laughed. "Even in high school I knew I wanted to marry you. But I also have something that I need to tell you that could possibly change your mind."

"Brie, I've already told you…nothing is going to change my mind…"

Gabriella held up her hand. "I realize that, but don't interrupt…just hear me out, okay?" Troy nodded. "You remember a couple weeks ago when I started getting sick all of a sudden?" Troy nodded again. "Well, one morning instead of going to classes, I decided to go to the doctor. I was tired of being sick all the time and I wanted to know why I was getting sick." She took a deep breath. "Well the doctor ran some tests and we got the results back…" Gabriella looked up at Troy.

Troy frowned. "What's wrong, babe? What did the results show?"

She took another deep breath, grabbing Troy's hand that was resting on her thigh before looking up at him again. "Troy…I'm pregnant."

Troy's eyes bugged out. "What?"

"I'm pregnant, Troy. I'm going to have a baby."

Troy sat there silent, trying to figure out if he heard her correctly. She was pregnant? Oh gosh! I'm not ready for that. I'm not ready to be a dad. What if I fail at being a parent? I don't want my child to grow up with a horrible parent.

When he didn't respond, Gabriella grew nervous. "Troy…what are you thinking?" she asked quietly. Troy still didn't respond. She let out a soft sigh, trying to fight back the tears that threatened. "I knew I should have gone first. Look…I know this wasn't something that was planned and we haven't really talked about it, so I'll understand if you want to take back the proposal." She looked up at Troy, trying to figure out what he was thinking.

He just sat there staring at his lap. He hadn't heard what she was saying. He just kept wondering what kind of parent he would be. But he knew that with Gabriella there by his side, he could do it. She gave him the courage. This was a new chapter in their life that they would do together.

Gabriella finally let the tears flow as she stood up and walked to the bedroom and into the bathroom. A few moments later when she walked out of the bathroom, she stopped when she saw Troy kneeling next to the bed with an engagement ring in front of him, still in the box.

"Will you marry me, Brie?"

Gabriella allowed even more tears to fall from her eyes as she nodded. Troy stood up and walked over to her, wrapping her in an embrace as she buried her face in his neck and cried. Troy pulled her over to the bed and sat down, pulling her down on his lap as she kept her face buried in his neck. They sat there for a few minutes before she finally sat up, wiping her face, and looked at him.

"So…you're okay with this?"

"What choice do I have?" Troy joked. Gabriella glared at him. "I'm kidding, baby. I'm ecstatic. We created a life! I didn't mean to scare you in there. I was just shocked…and a little scared." Gabriella smiled. "But, you know…as long as you're here by my side, I know I'll be okay…we'll be okay." He leaned down and pecked her lips. "You're going to be a wonderful mother," he whispered.

Gabriella smiled. "And you're going to be a wonderful father."

"Before I forget…there's something we forgot." He showed her the ring. He pulled it out of its box and slid it onto her finger. "Now…it's in its rightful place."

Gabriella smiled and held it up to look at it. "It's beautiful, Troy." She looked up at Troy. "I love you so much."

"I love you, too." He leaned down and gave her a long kiss full of love. When he pulled back, he got more comfortable on the bed, pulling her in closer to him as she snuggled into his chest, still on his lap. "So…would you like to tell me why you thought I wasn't going to marry you once I found out?"

"I was afraid that since we hadn't really talked about kids or when we were going to have them that you wouldn't be ready and wouldn't want anything to do with a kid right now."

"Babe, as long as it's with you, that's all that matters. So how far along are you?"

"About 10 weeks. I'm due at the beginning of March."

Troy smiled, picking Gabriella up and moving her to his side before he leaned over to lift up her shirt. "Hey little one. I'm your daddy. I can't wait to meet you!" He placed a soft kiss on Gabriella's stomach before pulling her shirt back down and moving up to place a soft kiss on her lips. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

"This has been one of the best days of my life."

Gabriella smiled. "Mine too. I love you. And I'll never get tired of saying that."

"_There's something about my cool Nebraska guy. Yeah, something about, baby, you and I," _Gabriella sang. She leaned up and kissed Troy knowing those lyrics have never been so true.

THE END!

**The song was "You and I" by Lady Gaga.**

**Thanks so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed it. Please leave a review and let me know what you thought. I've been working on this story for quite a while ever since I first heard this song. As soon as I heard the lyrics, I knew I had to write a story to go with it. Something about it just spoke to me. I hadn't expected this story to be so long, but the more I tried to finish it up, the more material came to me. **

**My goal is to get quite a bit of writing done over the next couple of months as I have a little more time on my hands. I have about three more stories going right now that I'm working on, so hopefully I'll be posting regularly.**


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